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Submitted by Trish Munro
This week’s City Council meeting featured two very important updates and a very long consent calendar.
Each of the updates represents a year’s work of improvements in two very important areas: addressing the effects of climate change (2023 Climate Action Plan Progress Report) and assessing the needs of the most vulnerable residents of the Tri-Valley (2024 Eastern Alameda County Human Services Needs Assessment and Final Report).
The reports on both areas are publicly available and easy to read. For the full story, go to the https://www.livermoreca.gov/, click on the agenda link, then on the council meeting agenda.
The consent calendar is often the hidden gem of any council meeting, with the council placing its stamp of approval on how the City uses resources: city staff, money, and time. Sometimes these items are for maintenance. Sometimes they are for new projects. This past week, the council approved money and contracts for two very different projects to improve public spaces.
Item 5.3 authorized the design of and construction support for improving the Flagpole Plaza. Once a grassy public space, it was repurposed for outdoor dining shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Now, the City is renovating the space to balance public space with opportunities for outdoor dining. The renovations will ensure the flagpole, the large existing fountain, and the plaza are all connected, maintain public walkways, increase landscaping and lighting, and ensure accessibility. All of this will allow a central and well-loved area to better act as a community gathering space.
Item 5.4 helps to fund Phase One improvements for the Springtown Open Space. Phase One features a 3–4-acre park located at the southern end of the Springtown Open Space near the Springtown Library, with a play area, shade structures, picnic benches, a multipurpose field, and a community garden.
It also includes pickle ball/tennis courts located in neighboring Marlin Pound Park (on the advice of LARPD), a disc golf course for a fast-growing sport, and shaded benches through the entire open space.
From caring for the environment to caring for our most vulnerable residents; from the center of town to North Livermore, I am grateful to the public servants who care for and create Livermore.
